


ELOS

by OpalliteGlass



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fantasy AU, M/M, Slow Boil, science AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 06:34:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11307729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalliteGlass/pseuds/OpalliteGlass
Summary: Keith is head of a war research division for a star-spanning civilization, but only Lance has been able to create the bio-weapons he needs.





	ELOS

“Interesting...” Keith growled, pacing around the class cube set before him. Inside, lit by the spotlights of the laboratory, squirmed a strange, sea cucumber-esque creature. It hissed and spit, covering the side facing Keith with a viscous purple liquid.

He grimaced, staring down at the animal with a look of pure disdain. “But not interesting enough.” With a snap of his fingers, the creature doubled up on itself with a loud shriek, dissolving into ash. Keith sighed, waving to the many lab assistants that they could examine the remains if they wish. They rushed forward, eager to get a glimpse and sample of both a new form of life and Keith’s infamous handiwork.

“Keith… you’ve got to lower your standards a bit.” A taller man said quietly, not wanting to disturb the fervent writing and deduction of the assistants. “You can’t just disintegrate everything the Vitae department sends you.”

“Spare me today, Shiro.” Keith sighed wearily, rolling his sleeves up and tapping a number into the pinpad hanging from the nearby door. “They send me nothing but disappointment. I’m going to get a drink.” 

The door swung open with a loud hiss. Keith stepped through it, not even having to look behind him to know Shiro was following closely. 

“You know we’ll get our grant revoked if we don’t send something to Bellos by next quarter. We can’t afford to picky-”

Keith whirled on his friend in an instant.

“We are at war, Shiro! Grant money is not important!” His loud voice echoed through the metal halls. Shiro didn’t even flinch, but merely placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder.

“You know it is. Grant money is what keeps this place going.” His voice was soft, as if he was afraid of setting Keith off again.

The smaller boy’s red eyes bored straight through Shiro, but his shoulders relaxed regardless. He gingerly removed Shiro’s hand from his shoulder and turned to continue walking. 

“I know, I know. You’re right.” He turned to enter an archway labeled ‘2-B’. Shiro was still hot on his heels. “I just don’t want to send our soldiers to war with… well, a slug!” He stepped into an elevator, barely waiting for Shiro to enter as well before pressing the button for the 25th floor. “It was a slug, Shiro. Nothing more.” He growled again, his temper heating up at the thought. “Useless.”

“Vitae said that it could generate some helpful acidic compounds that-”

“Compounds aren’t going to keep our people alive!” Keith stomped and balled his fists in the air, his skin burning a bright red for a brief instant. “It’s… so…. Frustrating!” He spoke through clenched teeth.

“Oof...” Shiro pulled the neck of his sweater away from him, trying to cool off from the wave of heat that rolled over him. “Keith, relax. I’ve got good news.”

The heat abated immediately. “What? News? What good news?” Keith’s attitude morphed from furious to almost puppy-like curiosity. “I would’ve heard about news. I’m kinda the boss around here-”

“The boss of Sciena, yes. But I pulled some strings over at Vitae in regards to our...” He looked around awkwardly, trying to find the words. “I’m going to be nice and call them ‘underperformers’.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “You… you did? What did you do?”

A quiet ding indicated the elevator had reached its destination. They both stepped out, with Keith leading the way to his apartment. 

“There’s been a very interesting development in that department. The search team discovered a very powerful Elos user out in the Badlands. Bios type.” They rounded a corner, Keith in a hurry to reach his apartment.

“So what? The entire Vitae department is made of Bios. They’re the reason I keep getting fucking slugs in my work mailbox.”

Shiro laughed quietly. “Well, this one is different. S grade.”

Keith stopped in his tracks. “Wait, what? That’s impossible.” He continued walking, his mind made up. “That’s got to be a hoax. No way.”

“Way. His been tested by the Oracle and everything.” Shiro chuckled again. “That makes him match your grade, buddy.”

“I don’t care about that.” Keith waved his laugh away, fumbling his key into a lock as soon as they reached his door. “But an S grade Bios? That’s never happened. That’s...” His eyes narrowed. “Interesting.”

“Yes, very. We’ve only gotten as high as B grades for Bios. This is a great discovery.”

Keith rolled his eyes as he entered the apartment and flicked the lights on. “Sure, whatever. Pyros is the best though.”

“I don’t know...” Shiro shrugged off his coat, handing it on the hook by the door. He slipped off his shoes and immediately beelined for the large plush couch in the center of the apartment. “I hear that a Pyros user named Keith has a bad habit of incinerating everything Vitae send him.” 

“Haha, you’re so funny.” Keith moved behind the living room into the kitchen, the medium sized apartment still allowing him a full view. He side-eyed Shiro from across the wraparound-counter before turning and opening the fridge. “You want anything? I’ve got… wine, brandy...” He pulled a large green bottle full of frothing liquid from the fridge and set it on the counter. “That’s classified.”

A green blob jiggled in the clear glass cube, looking for all intents and purposes like a strange jelly that had come to life. It cooed quietly, and squished itself against the clear pane, as if longing for Keith to rub it’s belly.

Keith was not amused.  
“Every. Fucking. Time.” He growled, pinching the bridge of his nose to quell his growing headache. “How is this a weapon? How will this help our people?” His red eyes flicked to look at Shiro, who shrugged innocently.

“I think it’d make the perfect pet. Market it as a low-care, high-affection pet and you’d make a fortune-”

“That’s not what we need!” Keith shouted, pointing a dangerous, glowing finger at the cube. Shiro nostrils flared as the scent of ozone entered them.

“Keith, don’t!” He interrupted Keith’s would-be jelly incineration, forcing his arm down and away from the creature who continued happily jiggling, oblivious to how close it came to death. “That’s not the answer.” 

Keith’s eyes focused on Shiro, his rage transferring instantly to the taller man. “Don’t touch me.” He pulled away from his handler, frustrated with his lack of results. “Our people are dying in the Sethas theater and we still don’t have a solution after all this time!”

“Keith, calm down. Today’s a different day, I promise.” Shiro said, trying to comfort Keith. “That new Bios user, Lance. He submitted his creation yesterday. It’s next on the list.”

Keith rolled his eyes, using the sleeve of his lab coat to pretend like he was adjusting his glasses when in reality he was wiping away boiling tears. “Fine. Bring on the next disappointment.” He sighed, snapping his fingers to signal for the next specimen to enter.

“No incineration this time, Keith.” Shiro said quietly, waiting for the door to open. Two attendants rushed in, collecting the cube holding the jelly creature, who cooed happily at the attention. They were both wearing biohazard masks, and their white coats were adorned with the green circular insignia of Vitae: two vines wrapped around each other in an Ouroborous pattern.

One of the attendants turned to Keith, he eyes peering over the mask. “What’s your report, Commander McClain?”

Keith’s expression flattened. “A disappointment. As usual.” The woman’s eyes saddened. Clearly she had been the one behind the jelly.

“I’m sure you can market it as a household pet. I’d buy one.” Shiro said, trying to lift the woman’s spirits. “I’ll set you up with the Council tomorrow.” He winked and flashed a smile.

Keith could see her blush even under the mask. “You’re… you’re too good, Mr. Takashi...” She hefted the cube up and off the white lab table, scurrying back through the door. Keith leaned over to get a better look at the hallway connecting the Vitae and Scientia departments. The woman hurried through the plain metal hallways, but when the door at the end opened, Keith could see a myriad of plants and animals flying and crawling, as if they had free reign of the place. He grimaced, turning to look at Shiro.

“Ugh. If one of those things even steps foot in my department I’m going nuclear.”

It was Shiro’s turn to roll his eyes. “They’re working hard over there. Bios is one of the hardest Elos to use. Memorizing how biology works, recreating tissue and organs… it’s more like science than any of the other ones.”

“Don’t try to talk them up to me. They just sent me a living pudding.” 

“I thought it was very cute. I might actually take one home. According to this report, she made lots of them in different colors...” Shiro swiped through a holographic tablet, stopping on an image of a purple blob. “Ohhh, see there’s a purple one.”

“Shiro, can you please focus-”

The door to Vitae whooshed open, revealing a tan boy with medium-length brown hair. He had the Vitae insignia on his black t-shirt, but had foregone the traditional labcoat and protective facemask the rest of his department wore.

“Hello, everyone!” He said cheerily stepping forward and extending a hand. Shiro took it and shook vigorously.

“Good morning, Lance. I hope you’ve got something good for us!” He said cheerily. 

Lance’s smile did not diminish. “I’m sure you’ll be happy with what I cooked up. I’m a bit new to a structured environment, but I got some stuff done.” He turned to look at Keith. “Hi! You must be Keith!”

He extended his hand again. Keith stared, his eyes raking up and down Lance’s disheveled, dirty appearance. He locked onto the hand. It was caked in dirt and dust. Keith looked back up at Lance’s smile, feeling a familiar rage building within him.

He took the hand carefully, barely shaking it. “It’s Commander Kogane, please.” He replied.

“Don’t listen to him, Lance.” Shiro said, trying to keep the excitement from his voice. “Show us what you’ve got!”

“Yeah, where’s your containment cube?” Keith asked, already suspicious.

“Oh, right. I don’t do that stupid cube stuff. It restricts my work.” Lance said, sitting on the floor and taking off his shoes.

“Umm...” Keith’s eyebrows raised quizzically, while Shiro was still practically bouncing with energy. “What are you doing?”

“She’s in here somewhere...” Lance threw his shoes into the corner of the room, reaching up his right pantleg and rummaged around his knee. “Her favorite feeding spot is around my right thigh… there you are!” He pulled with a grunt. Keith heard a loud pop and grimaced, disgust building.

Lance hopped up, holding his palm out. “Here’s what I made. Her name is Sweetie.”

A small creature unfurled in his hand, splaying it’s vibrant petals in the air. Rainbow colors shimmered all down its length, but a tooth-ringed mouth dominated the center of the petals. It’s green vine-like tendrils wrapped around Lance’s wrist as it reeled away from Keith, it’s eyeless head turning 360 degrees on it’s stalk.

“Oh shush, you.” Lance admonished, shaking his hand a bit. “They’re not gonna hurt you.”

“Right...” Keith said, remembering he had to restrain himself from lighting the strange flower on fire. “What does it….. do? Because I’m just looking at a set of teeth on a stem.”

Lance’s expression soured for the first time, but bounced back into a smile immediately. “The dossier Shiro sent me gave some guidelines.” He held his wrist up, the bright light of the lab shining through the creature. “Do you have a target?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Of course.” He snapped his fingers, a red ringed target dropping from the ceiling on a steel hook. “Good luck. Literally no other submission has passed the first one.”

Lance smirked. “I know.” The he reeled his hand back, hurling Sweetie at the target. On impact, it wrapped its vines around the plastic, hissing with incredibly volume. It seemed to swell in size reaching almost triple it’s original volume. It’s toothy mouth pulled back from the target, the whole contraption swinging from the applied force, before it dove into plastic, it’s head spinning rapidly and chewing through the target with loud chomping sounds.

Keith stared in abject horror, as he stepped to the side to avoid chunks of plastic being thrown from the creature’s meal. In less than 30 seconds, the entire target had been dismantled, leaving nothing but the hook behind.

Lance whistled, signaling for Sweetie to drop from the hook, rolling itself back to it’s creator. It bumped into his foot, it’s vines extending into the air, like a toddler wanting to be picked up.

“Good girl, Sweetie...” Lance cooed, bending down to pick the flower-monster up. “Who’s a good girl? Yes you are… it’s you! Yes it’s you...” He kissed the creature on top of it’s round head, deftly avoiding the toothy maw. “Oh, you’ve got a little something...” He pulled a piece of plastic from between the scissor-like teeth and dropped it back into it’s mouth. Sweetie was rapidly shrinking back to her original size, although her central vine was bulging from consumed plastic.

“That target was military grade… meant to withstand heavy artillery fire...” Keith whispered.

“I know, she’s such a beauty.” Lance replied, placing the creature’s mouth on his neck, where it fastened and began to suck. “She gets tired very easily though… but I can smooth that out given enough time. I have access to more genes here than I ever did back on the farm.”

Shiro clapped loudly, his smile wide. “Excellent, Lance! What are her attributes?”

Lance twirled a vine absentmindedly as he walked to sit in a chair opposite of Keith. “A mixture of flora and fauna DNA, but with a very special alloy-based jaw and teeth. It took some practice, but her teeth are filed down to the molecular level, letting her slice through almost anything. Solar powered, able to be used as a projectile, and soooo cute.” He cooed again, detaching the creature from his neck. “That’s enough for you. Back inside, now.” Sweetie scurried around his neck, dropping into his t-shirt and disappearing from sight. “Only downside right now is that there is no reproductive system. I’ve only got females worked out. Bit of an oversight, honestly.” Lance blushed, embarrassed at a blunder only he knew about. 

“I want a thousand.” Keith said, jolting from his reverie. “Can you have at least a thousand done by next month?”

Lance snorted. “Pfff, no! She’s a work in progress. None of your other staff can even replicate her genomics, let alone some more… complicated parts of her.” He pointed to the ring-like marks on his neck. “But give me enough time and I can make some more, easier to recreate creatures.”

Keith blushed. “Yes, yes of course. Well, umm...” He struggled to find words. “I’m impressed. Very impressed.” Shiro chuckled behind him.

“Told you, Keith.”

“I’m glad! She’s my baby.” Lance said, standing and pressing a button to open the door to Vitae. “I’ll take this as a favorable peer review and continue my work.”

But as he was stepping through the door, Keith interrupted him. “Wait!”

Lance stopped and turned to look at Keith, curious. Sweetie peered out from the neck of his shirt, cooing quietly.

“In, uh… in honor of the success you’ve given Vitae… Um...” His face was bright red.

Shiro stared at Keith, confused at his new attitude. 

“I’d be… honored… if you’d share some of your work at my apartment tonight.”

Shiro snorted, but quickly stifled it when Keith shot him a look that could melt iron.

Lance smiled. “Sure. I’ll bring some things.” He stepped through the door, but as he walked down the hallway, Keith could hear him talking to the flower creature. “I know, a date on the first day at work… not professional, I agree...”


End file.
